prismaticrap | ▶ TDM .013

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You awaken amidst the darkness with only a faint light to greet you. Your body is hemmed in by shards of crystals, gently sparkling and possibly pricking your skin. The surrounding landscape is dyed in the pinks and purples of the dusk filled with crystals protruding from the ground, some as large as a skyscraper. After an hour or two of wandering through the crystal wilderness, a group of people find you worse for wear. They are the gallant Moon Knights from the planet of Prismatica. Because of the strange phenomena during the past months when scientists observed the sudden appearance of rainbow crystals in the sky, the government has been feverishly combing through the moon for more Moonblessed to be rescued. You’ll eventually be brought into Iris’s moon government center.

You all may have your usual inquiries — Where are we? Who are you? What's going on? — and the Prismals are almost too eager to answer. They tell you about their world and about the first appearance of the Moonblessed as the medical staff give you an examination to make sure you’re not carrying any viruses or biological hazards. If you react violently, you may be restrained and nerfed with a specialized neurotransmitting gun that releases a numbing agent through the top of your spine. Once the examinations are over, you’re informed that you will be provided accommodations on their planet during your stay. You will then be escorted to the docks, and led onto a large transport vessel that makes frequent trips back and forth between the Iris moon and the planet. Faces onboard vary from both old and new Moonblessed as well as the local Prismals.

The next destination: Prismatica.

▶ Welcome to the Jungle
Iris Moon, Government Center (Arrival) and Planet Prismatica, City of Lunatia | top

Welcome to Prismatica’s hub, Lunatia, the city of your dreams! A bustling metropolis lush with bright lights, vibrant colors, luxuriant plant life, and all the conveniences of technology absent from your own world… It seems like paradise to all the uninitiated. After a quick tour of the city, new arrivals can find themselves getting cozy in their new homes.

A Settle in your new home at Level 2 to find new roommates and say hello to your neighbors! City officials will give you directions to the designated districts across Level 2 and instruct you to pick out a unit. Each apartment complex has a different aesthetic, some may look cozy, some stylish, and some bizarre. The free accommodations have a basic living space that can only fit two or three people at most in one unit.

Starter Chromaspace furnishings are provided which can be controlled with the touch of a built-in panel. Examples are color-changing curtains, transforming sofa beds, cabinets turning into tables, etc. Customizing your apartment or moving out will have to wait until you earn more chroma. Until then, why don’t you check out your new neighborhood or explore the city levels? Maybe your new roommates or neighbors can give you a “hand” with allowance for dinner.

▶ Let’s Do the Time Warp Now
Lunatia | top

Time is relative, but the days do seem shorter — or longer — than usual. A minute passes like an hour. An hour passes like a minute. Everything appears to be moving along as normal, but the numbers and hands on clocks flicker and spin with an unusual and worrying slowness or quickness. Eventually you notice that the darkness of the night barely lasts long enough for you to fall asleep while the sun seems to glare down upon you for an eternity. The temporal shifts disorient your body, which now grows lethargic from being overworked and underslept. Soon, the temporal abnormalities reach a critical point…

B Due to the temporal distortions, Prismals and Moonblessed new and old feel their bodies sporadically transform in the strangest of ways. Your joints ache like they’ve carried a lifetime’s weight of misfortune and regret. Your voice turns high-pitched like a certain pair has yet to drop. You turn into a confused infant in one moment and the seasoned fighter you always wanted to be in the next. Your memories also shuffle around along with your apparent age, leaving you confused and unsettled. The transformations can occur and last for as long as the 11th, when everything turns back to normal without incident. That time your baby self peed in your pants? Never happened. Until then, moonlacing seems to stabilize the weird abnormalities.

▶ Starlight, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight
Lunatia | top

The city’s landscape is not spared by the erratic flow of time. Buildings and streets continuously flicker between the beautiful and vibrant paradise it has become to the ruins of glory days long past. Your eyes may struggle to adjust as you try and convince yourself of what is real and what is not. High rise towers one moment will become wreckage the next, filled with technological debris and the echoing cries of the terrified, and the mighty wingspan of an unknown creature continues to hovers in the distance. The illusion will only last but a minute before you’re back in the present, going about your daily business. However, your trip from the future and back is far from over.

Soon, breaking news reports will inform the city about the sudden vanishing of certain celestial bodies in the sky. Though the moons remain where they should, the nights grow longer and darker as the stars in the sky start disappearing one by one until only the sun remains, eclipsed by some mysterious force. Lunar Scientia has already sent capable teams to investigate the abnormalities, so they ask the public to be patient as they wait for the reports. Until then, they have issued safety guidelines and measures to effectively light the city. The Caelus Tower appears to burn brighter than ever.

C For these dark hours, Lunar Scientia releases their latest Chroma-powered technology for Moonblessed use: star lanterns. When a star lantern is held by two Moonblessed, it absorbs newly generated Chroma from them, enabling it to light up the missing stars in the sky as you travel from place to place. The light’s color and intensity will depend on you and your partner’s bond, the spectrum ranging from a violet of hatred to a red full of love. Indifference, however, will not light the lantern at all. It also comes with a float function so that it can be released into the atmosphere without needing to carry it everywhere. Since the technology is limited in stock, Moonblessed may only have one star lantern in their possession.

One of the issued guidelines is to never walk through dark alleys alone even with the lanterns, as the crime rate has increased lately due to those taking advantage of the chaos. This is especially rampant in Level 3, at the mouth of the Lightless.

▶ Oh, They Just Can’t Wait to be King
Outside Lunatia, Port Sylvel | top

On the ides of the third month, an emergency broadcast appears from Captain Natela:

Captain Natela

Greetings, Prismals and Moonblessed.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Port Sylvel has been completely crystallized. The Moon Knights are currently recruiting willing explorers and scientists to investigate the cause. Investigations are still pending, but the outlook is grim. The only survivors were among the few we carried out of the city last month. The rest perished from the crystallization.

Our heart goes out to those affected by this plight. There is no cause for panic. There is no sign that the crystallization is spreading beyond Port Sylvel. We Moon Knights stand with the people of Prismatica, as we have done for centuries. We are not mere defenders of a city but protectors of a planet. We endeavor to find the cause of this tragedy and bring peace and justice to the lives it claimed. Until then, we ask for your cooperation. Stay calm and press onward.

Those who volunteer to participate in the expedition will be rewarded for their efforts. They will be assisted by experts from the Lunar Scientia as well as the bear Prismal and Moon Knight Fahrouk, who looks worse for wear after hearing the news.

Officer Fahrouk

Oh, Moonblessed. It's you. Yeah, Hala is doing good. Won the spelling bee! I think she might make the nationals. ... I… I don't think I ever told you. Port Sylvel was our hometown. My wife is buried there. We’d go there every spring. Hala loved picking the flowers there. Did you know that different flowers grow in Port Sylvel compared to Lunatia? Haaaah...

Moonblessed! I know you think I'm not cool enough to hang out with you, and all I do is ask for your help, but please let me go with you! Please… This is something I have to do as a soldier, a husband, and a father.

… What? You always thought I was cool?

Finding strength and resolve after the participants tell him he's supposed to assist them on their mission anyway, Fahrouk distributes LIFE suits to the participants as he briefs them on what they're about to do. He and the participating Moonblessed will then be transported via a large transport vessel.

Port Sylvel is hardly recognizable. What was once an idyllic coastal town is now a site of tragic beauty — crystal formations encase buildings and Prismals like jagged glass coffins, as if preserving life in its final moments. Readings from life detectors tell you that everyone in the crystal has passed on, but you and your fellow Moonblessed think you can still hear their cries of distress carried along by the wind, warning you about the Prideful King.

D Gigantic crystal lions flank the passage of the port city, their wings spread open and blue flames pouring forth from their mouths. You hear rumbling guttural noises, and if you approach them, their roars will escalate to warn you about proceeding any further. Beware: a single bite from these lions can easily tear through the LIFE suit and cause your body to crystallize quickly unless someone rushes in to moonlace with you to halt the effect. These lions are unlike the beasts you’ve fought before: their otherworldly strength is overwhelming, and nothing seems to wear them down. Destroying them seems pointless, as they quickly regenerate the minute they are obliterated.

Eventually, transmissions from the LIFE suits announce an order for escape. Buildings collapse and shatter in your wake, and the ground quakes violently as something awakens in the far distance...

▶ questions

If you have any questions regarding this test drive meme, please ask them in the Questions thread below.

WHO CAN POST? ▶ Test drive memes are for new characters only. Existing players may not post starter threads in the test drime meme. However, current players are more than welcome to use these prompts for their own posts in the IC communities, personal inboxes, catch-all posts, etc.!

IS THIS CANON? ▶ As our test drive memes are game canon, feel free to keep any threads that happen here as canon for your character should they be accepted.

ANNIVERSARY ▶ Happy first anniversary, Prismatica! Thank you to all of you who have been with us since the beginning. We appreciate it immensely! Remember that we always welcome input and suggestions from players. This event is a little out of the ordinary because of our anniversary celebration.

OPT IN AND OUT ▶ For current players, please do not be alarmed! As always, you do not have to be affected as there are safe areas across Lunatia that remain as is.

AGING UP AND DOWN ▶ You have free reign over how long and how many times your character will be affected. If a character doesn’t have a canon appearance from the past or future, you are welcome to provide one of your own from imagination and use your own PB. You are allowed to speculate on how they’ll look, act, their potential future, and so on. All of these will be temporary to this event. The intensity of the effect is also up to you: whether it will only affect appearance alone and retain their current memories.

IMPORTANT ▶ As a reminder, writing sexual content with characters below 15 years old is a violation of the game's rules and potentially Dreamwidth’s ToS. Players caught doing this will be banned from the game.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

welcome to the jungle;

[ The apartment she found is spare, with a vaguely midcentury-modern look to it, for anyone familiar with the style. She herself is the epitome of midcentury, with her bobbed hair, pencil skirt and heels.

She is shoving something under the bed, what looks like a black case or small trunk of some sort - it's a bit bulky, but with difficulty she manages to get it under there. She's obviously used to wrangling it in tight, awkward places. At a sound (real or imagined), she turns quickly, eyes wide with fear, but back straight, ready to face whoever (or whatever) is there. ]

I've already claimed this one -!

star light, star bright;

[ She has one of the lanterns, though she took one more for the purpose of examining it than making use of it right now. It's only necessity that forces her from her small apartment in an unfamiliar place, a need for some basic food and supplies, and she holds onto the lantern with a tight grip, despite its relative uselessness at the moment. ]

I can see how this would make for an interesting exercise for a pair, but I can't say much for its practicality in an emergency situation...

wildcard;

[ Make up your own prompt! ]

[There's a scruffy-looking detective nearby, clad in a large green trenchcoat. He is currently looking over another lantern, but with far less scrutiny. When he hears the woman speak, he figures she must be talking to him. So he's quick to respond confidently.]

What, just because it needs two people? That doesn't sound so bad to me, pal. It just means we gotta follow the buddy system, which is always a good rule to follow in general! As long as you got a buddy, pal? You'll always be able to light your lantern!

[ She gives him a look, assessing. She's seen worse. He doesn't seem threatening, at least. If anything, he seems almost refreshingly familiar in this place.

She gives him a small, wry smile. ]

Well, I don't have any buddies here, yet. I've just arrived, and I don't know anyone at all.

[He does almost look like he could have stepped out of a noir film - just with a look that's more "bad at shaving" than "rugged". He frets at her answer.]

You're new here? Well that explains it! No one should be stuck on their own in a place like this. In that case, I can be your first pal! [He offers an encouraging smile and a large hand to shake.] The name's Dick Gumshoe, ma'am! At your service!

[ Her first thought is that sounds like a character from one of my son's comic books, but Virginia is nothing if not good at keeping her thoughts to herself - especially in a situation like this, where she really does need to ingratiate herself, not potentially offend people.

So she merely maintains the smile, and takes the offered handshake. ]

I'm Virginia Johnson, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Gumshoe. Have you been here long? Are you one of the other "Moon Blessed", I think they're calling me?

[He gives a warm and hearty and hearty handshake!]

Good to meet you too, Miss Johnson! Heh... yeah, I'm a fellow Moonblessed alright! [Then his smile grows more sheepish as he covers the other part of her question.] Um, yeah, you could say I've been here for a while. Somehow it's pretty much ended up being a whole year since I got stuck here, pal!

[ Her face goes a little pale at that admission. She wasn’t sure what sort of response she was expecting, but - ]

A whole year? Is that - is that normal?

[ She tries to regain some of her composure, but really, it’s a losing battle, as all her anxieties start flooding back. ]

I have kids back home! I have - work, important work I’m doing!

[Now the remnants of his cheer fade away in the face of her response, a frown crossing his own face instead.]

Kids?! Oh jeez, I'm sorry pal! [Keeping parents away from their kids is just plain horrible!] I- I don't really know, nothing about this place is really normal to begin with!

[He sighs as he tries to elaborate.]

I'm part of the first group of people who got pulled here from another world. But there's been plenty of other people who haven't been here as long and disappeared. M-maybe you'll be one of those who don't last so long. I mean, I really hope that you are!!

[ He may mean well, but hoping is inadequate for the moment. There's nothing tangible that hoping can accomplish. Her life was already nearly a shambles when she got pulled from it - she can't imagine what it'll be like if she's gone for a year or more.

Breathe, Gin. One step at a time. ]

Right. Hopefully.

[ She pinches the bridge of her nose for a moment, trying to will away the sudden headache that's threatening behind her eyeballs. ]

And in the meantime, we're supposed to, what, touch each other a lot? Hold hands?

[He's often not the best at breaking difficult news to others, and on top of that, this is situation where there's not much of a bright side to share. Gumshoe feels particularly defeated now that it's fresh in his head that he's been here a whole year. All that time, and he's no closer to finding a way to send people home. Gumshoe scratches at his head nervously as he goes on.]

U-um, kinda. Only if you want! We just have to... keep on living here and look for answers, until we can find a way to get back home for good! Sorry, Miss Johnson, b-but that's the only real answer I've got for you for now!

'Look for answers.'

[ She turns that over in her mind for a moment. ]

I suppose I was doing a bit of that already back home, albeit very different sorts of answers. Are you doing that here? Looking for answers? A way back?

Well what do you know, I was looking for answers back home too! [Mostly related to murders.] Believe it or not, I'm actually a detective back there!

And, well, yeah, I'm trying to investigate where I can! I just... haven't been able to hit any big breakthroughs. So far, it sounds like the only way to get back home is by figuring it out all science-like, and that's not exactly my department. The eggheads over at Lunar Scientae are supposed to be working on it! [He just hasn't heard about breakthroughs from them, either.]

You, a detective? I never would’ve guessed. [ Virginia has an excellent poker face, which she is currently employing. ]

I was - am - a research assistant, back home. [ She ventures this in a show of - solidarity, maybe? Friendship? ] But my research has always been medical. I know lots about the human body; can’t say much about celestial bodies.

[He gives a proud grin. Of course, a poker face doesn't even have to be that great to fool him.]

Oh yeah? Sounds like we're both out of our element. But hey, that still sounds like a really neat job! I bet we'd make a great team in an emergency!

[ Gini chuckles faintly. ] I don’t know about that. I’m sure you’d do well; my experience is mostly in a lab. Observations, data collection.

[ Not that she can’t keep cool under pressure, she supposes. But Gini has never been the sort to lead people to believe she’s anything other than what she is. ]

Oh... Okay, then maybe scratch that idea. [He chuckles.]

Lab stuff can still be really helpful. And if you ever need help there, I'm told that I'd make for a great guinea pig! [He says as if that's a compliment to be proud of.]

[ She honestly hasn’t thought about what she might do here - though, now she is, she’s immediately being presented with some interesting possibilities. When in doubt, focus on work. Bill would be - no. No point thinking about him. She can do without him, he is not her concern here.

But the work. What was it Lillian said to her once? “The work is what endures.” She had a point. ]

Well, if or when I decide to go looking for subjects, you’ll be the first person I ask.

[ Whether he’d agree to the sort of activities she usually observes, is another matter entirely. People often surprise her, though. ]

Aw yeah? That'd be an honor!

[He can only imagine what kind of fancy-pants research he could be a part of! But his imagination could probably never guess correctly.]

But you're still getting your bearings, right? Being new to this world and all!

Yes. I suppose I'll need to find a job? I can't just... spend all day meeting people to shake their hands or whatever it is this chroma thing is about, right?

[ She laughs lightly. ]

I mean, you could if you want to! [He points out, with a quick laugh of his own.] But a job'll be more reliable, and it'll give that hand of yours a rest. It looks like there's plenty of places that're hiring, so it shouldn't be too tough to find something out there!

[ Her lips twitch faintly at the comment about hands. She can’t help it; this is simply what her life has become. ]

I suppose even in space, secretaries are needed?

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[Well nobody said anything about roommates. (maybe he didn't want to believe anything about roommates. Maybe it was because his last roommates moved out after he went a little bear ish.)

Shit. Stunned, he holds up his hands. He's also dressed in a style she might be familiar with - a single breasted suit and a dark brown tie. Fuck. Fuck Fuck Fuck.]

Take it easy. I'm next door.

[Though if there's a woman next door he's considering trying to find another unit because - shit. Sanguis is just around the corner he just knows it. His hands lower.]

I didn't think I had roommates.

[He offers her a hand.] If I had known I would have knocked.

[This is strange because she looks just like she walked out of Sterling Cooper. A sudden bolt of nostalgia hits him hard and he offers her a hand and as charming a smile as he can manage.] Don Draper.

[ Gini relaxes, incrementally. This one seems...normal. Normal is good, right now. Not that there's anything wrong in general with being abnormal, it's just that right this minute, she needs something to ground her. One seemingly-normal person in all this ridiculous mess is helpful.

She takes the offered hand. ]

Virginia Johnson. Have you been here long? I just got here and I admit I'm... a little overwhelmed.

[ She tries a nervous smile - it's honest, anyway. Put him at ease, maybe help put them both at ease. ]

A month.

[A side effect of watching moons like a hawk is an uncanny awareness of time. He studies her suitcase.]

Or close to a month. You know if you took stuff out you could probably fit more under there. The place will let you customize it and make space for what you want.

[He used it to add a more familiar (aka hideous) brown and slightly gold color scheme. Just like something out of the 60s.]

I will... take that into consideration.

[ Her face reveals nothing, but there isn't exactly a pile of clothes in that suitcase, and she's not about to show what's in it to anyone right now. She might, eventually, but not right now. ]

I have to admit, I've never really thought about what being kidnapped would be like, but if I had, this isn't how I would've imagined it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

virginia johnson | masters of sex

star light

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Welcome to the Jungle

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